The Moro Reef Islands
NAME: The Moro Reef Created by u/TechnicolorTraveler GEOGRAPHY The Moro Reef is one of many “Great Reefs” throughout the world. It is an expansive aquatic ecosystem surrounding countless islands of various sizes and is home to thousands of unique flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. From miles of colorful coral reefs, to thick kelp forests, all are tended to by the native Moroi. The Moro Reef exists around an extensive system of caves and crags naturally formed from volcanic activity or carved out by the native Moroi shark-folk. The now dormant volcano, located on the largest island in the area, created many twisting, curling, and spiraling patterns in the earth, within which the Moroi and many others make their homes. The volcano also spread out many minerals and nutrients that are excellent for plant growth which have made the reef the rich and fertile ecosystem it is today. However, if the volcano were to erupt again today, it would cause catastrophic damage to this fragile ecosystem. While most homes are dug out of the earth or carved from caves and reefs, some are also built out of the reef. To build up in the Moro reef, Moroi often simply stack stones up, told them together with “glue” from a specific species of oyster, and grow a specific type of rapidly growing coral over the stones as the structure is being built. It is still a slow process and a single wall can take six months to make, but once complete, these buildings stay together, are well camouflaged, look beautiful, provide habitat for local sea life, can self repair, and can grow larger over time. The Moroi City of Nawali has buildings because of its extensive coral reef housing.(All to be elaborated on later) BIOLOGY/ETHNICITY: The Moroi are a race of shark-like humanoids. They have scaly webbed hands and feet, three rows of jagged regenerating teeth, the ability to breathe above and below water thanks to the gills on their necks, see above and below water thanks to a second eyelid, and sharp blade-like fins that are as strong as steel thanks to the mineral composition within them. They can generally live up to 90 with an average lifespan of 70. Their height is 5.5-6.5ft, though the Gohun are a foot taller on average. There are four races of the Moroi, the Gohun (great white sharks), the Malu (mako sharks), Helei (black tip reef sharks), and Karuna (zebra sharks). (All to be elaborated on later). They are fiercely territorial, easily aggravated people with a deep respect for their homeland and currently don’t allow any trespassers (except a select few aquatic races) into their homewaters/lands. The Tao’oi are a race of nomadic whale-like people, roughly 60ft long, that can live to roughly 150 years. They are bioluminescent deep diving whales that can reach depths of roughly 4,000 to 4,500 meters, and stay underwater for up to five hours, thanks to many special adaptations. They are a hermaphroditic race that generally looks female and live in pods of roughly twenty to thirty Tao’oi, led by a matriarch, who is usually the oldest member of the pod. The Tao’oi have long memories and very well developed emotional intelligence, and are very social creatures. They also have long sheer fins on their arms, a blowhole on their head, and a second eyelid that allows them to see just as well above water as below. RACE MAGIC: The Moroi have the ability to shapeshift into larger “weresharks” when triggered. The trigger for the shift is often blinding rage or, more commonly, strong exposure to blood and the scent of blood. A Moroi that wants to shift quickly will often bite into their forearm, and smear their blood across their nose and mouth to trigger the shift. Moroi do not have much control in this larger, stronger form, but when shifting can give their “beast” a simple command, such as “defend”, “attack”, “kill” etc, and the raging, blood mad beast will do that until they have nothing left to fight or they are killed or overcome by exhaustion. Moroi wounds often heal during the transitional process, and so in either form they will often sustain and shrug off injuries, knowing that the wounds will heal when they shift. Besides this shifting feature, they can also somewhat fuse their legs and elongate their feet into fins when underwater. Tao’oi have the ability to heal with a touch or a song. The Tao’oi language is itself sung, and is often described as hauntingly beautiful and mesmerizing, however its ability to “reach in to caress the soul and erase the pain” isn’t always an exaggeration. Tao’oi magic can stitch flesh, mend scars, strengthen immune systems, relax minds, undo damage, and bring others back from the verge of death if they still have fight left in them. (All to be elaborated on later) HISTORY The Moroi have lived in the Moro Reef for as long as they can remember. They consider it their ancestral home, from which the oceans made them and they walked out of. The Tao’oi have a similar story, though they believe that their “goddess” - a vague and rarely specified thing, brought them into the world through “The Heart of the Sea” and they have swum through the world ever since. The Tao’oi frequent the Moro Reef because it has become one of a consecrated few places that the Tao’oi consider scared spaces, safe grounds to give birth, and good places to grow the plants they consider holy. Tao’oi will often swim countless miles across the world to reach these few specific places. The Tao’oi feel safe around the usually aggressive Moroi because the Moroi have a deep respect for the Tao’oi and so are more likely to protect the whale-folk rather than harm them. Toa’oi don’t believe in land or sea ownership though, and have no territory they call their own, but instead travel all over the world expect for the places they feel unsafe. The Moroi know the Tao’oi are bigger, stronger, and far more dangerous than any shark could be, they just choose not to be vicious. This “restraint” is seen as the greatest display of strength. In truth, the Tao’oi are generally friendly and peaceful and may use their healing magic to help the Moroi, especially during their mating season. These visiting pods often tell stories to young Moroi and sometimes Moroi, especially mages, leave the islands to travel with the Tao’oi to explore the world under the safety of the pods. In exchange these Moroi often will clean these Tao’oi where they can’t reach once they’ve entered the open oceans where natural bottom feeders and animal cleaners aren’t present. SOCIETY: In the islands the strongest Moroi in the area often “rules” it: organizing the guard, settling disputes, and dealing out punishment to those who would disrupt the social order, but mostly letting the other Moroi take care of themselves. The Gohun, being a foot taller and generally physically stronger, are often the leaders of the larger Moroi communities and since they defend the city of Nawali, the strongest among the Gohun are often seen as the leaders of the population as a whole and any rules they make are often followed out of respect for their strength and fear of being attacked for defying the status quo the Gohun have worked so hard to construct, though often the fear is for other Moroi, not the Gohun specifically (to be elaborated on later). Local tribal leaders are called Kahua, while the Gohun council leaders are called Go’kahua. The Tao’oi raise their children (called calves) communally, though children always have a special affection for their mothers. Pods are often led my matriarchs, who are often the oldest and wisest of the group. The group elders collectively decide the pod’s route as they travel the world exploring, transporting goods and information, looking for better hunting and foraging waters, and offering their services as healers.(to be elaborated on later) CULTURE Moroi are very independent and rarely affectionate. Moroi females can only mate once and only for a brief period in the year and parents do not raise their children together, males raise their sons and females raise their daughters; Moroi never live together unless for mutual protection, lack of space, or to raise their children. Moroi culture is centered around survival; they farm healing berries and maintain and protect the reef to provide for themselves and defend each other so their enemies can’t outnumber and overpower them. Moroi are very practical and rarely altruistic, though they aren’t a cruel people and are often kind and friendly toward those they trust and feel safe around. The Moroi also have a deep respect for power, and this is reflected in their society, culture, and religious views, and especially in their respect for the massive Tao’oi that occasionally come to the Moro reef to give birth and take care of their little ones. Tao’oi are illiterate, but have a strong oral tradition and very good memories. They can remember stories told generations ago for as long as the stories are told and passed on. A common pastime while traveling is for mother Tao’oi to tell their little ones the stories they know so the next generation can pass them along too. This makes the death of a pod all the more tragic because with them goes all the centuries of unwritten knowledge they preserved. Learning is highly valued among the Tao’oi and they are generally very inquisitive people who like to learn about and learn from the various people and creatures they meet. They are also well known for being kind and caring people who are well known for being altruistic and motherly toward other races. The Tao’oi have a fondness for the Moroi because the shark folk have so much respect for them and often will watch over their pods when they visit. OCCURRENCE OF MAGIC Moroi magic is naturally very chaotic and hard to control. The average Moroi magic user has a near impossible time controlling their volatile and “primitive” magic, and so the magic they can cast alone is often very weak and very dangerous. To combat this, Moroi often find “familiars” to channel and harness their magic with. Familiars are a specific species of semiaquatic animal found in the Moro reef that feeds of the magical healing berries and the mana from leylines and mages. When a mage and familiar bond, the mage gains the use of specific spells or magical domains that the familiar “possesses”, which is often nearly impossible to predict until the bond is made. Therefore, mages can gain almost any skill, but almost never have teachers that can train them. Familiars feed off their mages and shorten the mage’s life expectancy and if a familiar is killed or taken away, the mage will lose their powers and the familiar will die within a week or two if not returned. Mages live a more isolated lifestyle, often they are kept or choose to live at a distance from society. Few would dare stand in their way, though few would dare stand beside them either. Tao’oi mages are very rare. They are generally only found in roughly 1:5,000 of the population. All mages have “Perfect memory” an ability to remember almost everything they have learned, as well as oracle abilities for either the past or future; they can either see into the future with perfect clarity, or they can see into the past as if they were actually there. To trigger the magic they often need a link, either an object, a person, or a place connected to the thing they want to see in time, whether it is a battle that happened a century ago or a century ahead. The downsides however are severe. While the Moroi have a higher risk of cancer and not much control of their rage, Tao’oi magic often causes neural anaplasia that causes swelling and pressure on the brain with the common associated side effects, such as migraines, seizures, and strokes. Tao’oi mages also don’t have their racial magic quirk, and so are completely reliant on other Tao’oi and will die otherwise. Despite this, they still have much shorter lifespans than normal.(All to be elaborated on later) MAJOR EXPORTS/IMPORTS Moroi Exports: ambergris, kelp cord, fruits, pearls, fish, horned dolphin ivory, walrus ivory, scrap metal, obsidian, various fruits, a glue-producing snail, marijuana, rare rainbow opals, and many reef derived medicines: anti-inflammatories developed from whip corals, healing berries cultivated from a specific species of berry producing kelp (basically a DnD goodberry), and a type of antipath coral that produces an opium-like effect when eaten. Moroi Imports: any form of technology above the spear, vegetables, finished goods, medicine, spices, sugar, metals, and so on. Tao’oi Exports: nutritious herbs, information exchange, transport services, and healing services. Tao’oi Imports: stories, news, hospitality, medicine, and food. POSTS The Moro Reef Islands The Moroi Races Plants of the Moro Islands The Ship Mandate Tao’oi Concept Art Moroi Concept Art Tao’oi Biology Overview Moroi General Biology Tao’oi Magic The Magic of Moroi Familiars Tao’oi Respiration Tao’oi General Culture Moroi Culture Facts and Quirks Death and Birth Among the Moroi Moroi Omen Names Moroi Marine Fauna A Reef Map From the Moroi Perspective Medical Journal Essay on Moroi Adaptations Against Cancer (Part 1) Mechanics of the Moroi Quirk (part 2) Moroi Religion Moroi Reproduction Culture Cue #1 Nomads and Migrants Stormborn Moro Beads Free At Last The Bread Plant The Moroi Creation Myth Tao’oi Reproduction The Moroi Breeding Season Eeoo Nuía! More Odd Fauna of the Moro Reef Muddled Plans to Dwell on For an Afternoon O’motê The Nekomancer The Moroi of the Whole Moro Reef A Snapshot of the Island Fauna of the Moro Reef Birds of the Moro Reef Whales of War Insects of the Moro Reef Calling all Monsters! Oga, Matriarch of the Monster Hunting Pod Strange Tides Hard Conversations Above Reflecting Moonlight Tao’oi Bards Under the Pale Moon’s Glow Analysis of Island Bird Adaptations The Light That Shines in Aokoa’s Depths Volcano God’s Gift to Moroi Kind Mechanically Engineered Cetacean Havoc Suits Not The Purrfect Mage For The Job Where There’s a Whale, There’s a Way The Lost Song Never Sung Iakona Port: The First Port of the Moro Islands Evolution, and the Origin of Species, by Oaga Ah What are you Going to do About it, Urum? Memories of Red Horizons Update on Moroi Modernization and Isolation The Nullmage part 1 The Nullmage Part 2 Moroi in Nuckland The Mage Meets The Warrior The Stone The Sword Sarala The Battle of Kings and Monsters Meeting Mahaulu: Urum Saga Epilogue